William Meade Lindsley Fiske III (4 June 1911 – 17 August 1940) was an American combat fighter pilot and Olympic bobsledder. At the

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...

and

1932 Winter Olympics The 1932 Winter Olympics, officially known as the III Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Lake Placid 1932, were a winter multi-sport event in the United States, held in Lake Placid, New York, United States. The games opened on February ...

, Fiske won gold as driver for the US bobsledding team, also acting as the American Olympic flagbearer in 1932. When

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

broke out in 1939, Fiske traveled to

the UK The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and joined the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF ...

, claiming Canadian citizenship in order to be permitted to enlist. He would participate in the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...

, before being killed in action on 17 August 1940. After

Jimmy Davies James Richard Davies (August 8, 1929 – June 11, 1966) was an American racecar driver in Champ cars and midgets. He was the second man to win three USAC National Midget Championships.World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

.Lang 1989, p. 106. Between his Olympic career and his military service, Fiske was instrumental in the early development of the

Aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China ...

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North ...

. Fiske and his partner built the first

ski lift A ski lift is a mechanism for transporting skiers up a hill. Ski lifts are typically a paid service at ski resorts. The first ski lift was built in 1908 by German Robert Winterhalder in Schollach/Eisenbach, Hochschwarzwald. Types * Aerial l ...

and lodge in the remote

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

mountain town. Others would continue their work after the war.

Early life

Fiske was born in Chicago in 1911, the son of Beulah and William Fiske, a New England banking magnate. He attended school in Chicago, and then went to school in France in 1924, where he discovered the sport of bobsled at the age of 16. Fiske attended

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...

in 1928 where he studied Economics and History. In 1936 Ted Ryan, an heir of

Thomas Fortune Ryan Thomas Fortune Ryan (October 17, 1851 – November 23, 1928) was an American tobacco, insurance and transportation magnate. Although he lived in New York City for much of his adult career, Ryan was perhaps the greatest benefactor of the Roman Ca ...

, brought some photographs of mountains near

Aspen, Colorado Aspen is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,004 at the 2020 United States Census. Aspen is in a remote area of the Rocky Mounta ...

, to Fiske. They had been given to Ryan by a man trying to interest him in investing in a mining claim. Fiske and Ryan, however, saw in them ideal terrain for

downhill skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel Ski binding, bindings, unlike other types of skiing (Cross-country skiing, cross-country, Telemark skiing, Telemark, or ski jumping), w ...

, and the

the pair had been talking about establishing in the United States, similar to those in the Alps where Fiske had competed in the Olympics.Lund, Morten and Mary Hayes
"Skiing Comes to Aspen: Visionaries and Teachers."
''Skiing Heritage Journal,'' Issue 2, 1997, pp. 16–18. Fiske and Ryan visited Aspen, then a faded mining town decades removed from its

boomtown A boomtown is a community that undergoes sudden and rapid population and economic growth, or that is started from scratch. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although ...

years in the 1880s. Many of the abandoned properties around town were available for very low prices. Fiske bought an option on one, and he and Ryan had blueprints drawn up for a

ski lodge A ski lodge or day lodge is a building located in a ski area that provides amenities such as food, beverages, seating area, restrooms, and locker rooms for skiers and snowboarders. Larger resorts have a day lodge at each base area and also at mid- ...

. For the next season, they hired guides, including Swiss ski champion

André Roch André Roch (August 21, 1906 in Hermance, Switzerland – November 19, 2002 in Geneva) was a mountaineer, avalanche researcher and expert, skier, resort developer, engineer, and author. Roch is best known for having planned and surveyed the Aspen, ...

, then studying at

Reed College Reed College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland neighborhood, with Tudor-Gothic style architecture, and a forested canyon nature preserve at ...

in Oregon. The lodge opened at the end of 1937, and a few weeks later the Boat Tow, an early

, opened. These events are considered the beginning of skiing in Aspen. Fiske then worked at the London office of Dillon, Reed & Co, the New York bankers. Fiske married Rose Bingham, Countess of Warwick, in

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...

Bobsled career

In 1928, as driver of the first five-man US Bobsled team to win the Olympics, Fiske became the youngest gold medalist in any winter sport (he was not eclipsed until 1992 by

Toni Nieminen Toni Markus Nieminen (born 31 May 1975) is a Finnish former ski jumper who competed from 1991 to 2004, with a brief comeback in 2016. He is one of the most successful ski jumpers from Finland, having won both the World Cup overall title and th ...

), aged just 16 years at the

1928 Winter Olympics The 1928 Winter Olympics, officially known as the II Olympic Winter Games (french: IIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver; german: II. Olympische Winterspiele; it, II Giochi olimpici invernali; rm, II Gieus olimpics d'enviern) and commonly known as St. M ...

in St. Moritz,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. His

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

team-mates were

Geoffrey Mason Geoffrey Travers Mason (May 13, 1902 – January 5, 1987) was an American bobsledder who competed in the 1928 Winter Olympics. Responding to a newspaper article in Paris, Mason was invited to join the Olympics. Then, nineteen days after seeing ...

Nion Tocker Nion Robert Tucker, Sr. (August 21, 1885 – April 22, 1950) was an American bobsledder who competed in the late 1920s. He won a gold medal in the five-man event at the 1928 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz. He was born in Sacramento, Cal ...

, Clifford Gray and

Richard Parke Richard Averell Parke (December 13, 1893 – August 23, 1950) was an American bobsledder who competed in the late 1920s. He won a gold medal in the five-man event at the 1928 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz. He graduated from Cornell Uni ...

. Fiske competed again at the

Lake Placid, New York Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,303. The village of Lake Placid is near the center of the town of North Elba, southwest of Plattsburgh. ...

, USA, where he carried the United States' flag at the opening ceremony. The format of the race was altered to a four-man team, but again Fiske and his team-mates, Clifford Gray,

Eddie Eagan Edward Patrick Francis Eagan (April 26, 1897 – June 14, 1967) was an American boxer and bobsledder who is notable as being the only person to win a gold medal at both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games in different disciplines.Gillis Grafstr ...

, and Jay O'Brien took gold. Fiske was invited, but declined to lead the bobsled team in the

1936 Winter Olympics The 1936 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IV Olympic Winter Games (german: IV. Olympische Winterspiele) and commonly known as Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 ( bar, Garmasch-Partakurch 1936), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 16 ...

Garmisch-Partenkirchen Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; Bavarian: ''Garmasch-Partakurch''), nicknamed Ga-Pa, is an Alpine ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ''GAP''), in the O ...

in Germany. It is believed by some that this decision was due to his disagreeing with the politics in Germany at the time, which may also explain his later decision to join the war effort in 1940. Fiske was also a Cresta Champion, and was well known for jumps from the

Badrutt's Palace Hotel The Badrutt's Palace Hotel is a historic luxury hotel in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The hotel opened in 1896 and has 155 rooms, of which 43 are suites. The majority shareholder is Anikó Badrutt. The hotel has ten different restaurants ...

's bar chandelier in St. Moritz.

World War II

Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, Fiske was recalled to the New York offices of Dillon, Reed & Co, but on 30 August 1939 he returned to England aboard the ''Aquitania'' accompanying a bank colleague who was also a member of No. 601 (County of London) Auxiliary Air Force Squadron. Fiske was one of seven US aircrew personnel who fought in the Battle of Britain, although due to the neutrality of the United States, Fiske pretended to be a Canadian. He joined the

and was promoted to the rank of Pilot Officer on 23 March 1940. Fiske undertook his flying training at No. 10 Elementary Flying Training School at

RAF Yatesbury RAF Yatesbury is a former Royal Air Force airfield near the village of Yatesbury, Wiltshire, England, about east of the town of Calne. It was an important training establishment in the First and Second World Wars, and until its closure in 1965. ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, before moving to

RAF Brize Norton Royal Air Force Brize Norton or RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, about west north-west of London, is the largest station of the Royal Air Force. It is close to the village of Brize Norton, and the towns of Carterton and Witney. The station ...

, Oxfordshire, for advanced flying training. As an American citizen, he "duly pledged his life and loyalty to the king,

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952. ...

,"Fiske, Hugh
"Pilot Officer W.M.L. (Billy) Fiske: 601 Squadron, Royal Air Force, Volunteer Reserve."
''The Fiske Papers,'' 2010. Retrieved: 11 January 2012. and was formally admitted into the RAF. In his diary, a joyous Fiske wrote, "I believe I can lay claim to being the first U.S. citizen to join the RAF in England after the outbreak of hostilities."Kershaw, Alex. "Billy Fiske". ''World War II Magazine,'' Volume 25, No. 4, November/December 2010, p. 36. On 12 July 1940, Fiske joined

No. 601 Squadron RAF Number 601 (County of London) Squadron is a squadron of the RAF Reserves, based in London. The squadron took part in the Battle of Britain, during which the first Americans to fly in World War II were members of the squadron. Reactivated in 2017 ...

, a

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

unit, at

RAF Tangmere RAF Tangmere was a Royal Air Force station located in Tangmere, England, famous for its role in the Battle of Britain, and one of several stations near Chichester, West Sussex. The famous Second World War aces Wing Commander Douglas Bader, a ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...

, the so-called "Millionaires' Squadron", carrying out his first sorties with the squadron on 20 July, when he flew two patrols. On 16 August 1940, in the midst of the

, No. 601 Squadron RAF were scrambled to intercept a squadron of German dive-bombers. Fiske was flying Hurricane

serial number A serial number is a unique identifier assigned incrementally or sequentially to an item, to ''uniquely'' identify it. Serial numbers need not be strictly numerical. They may contain letters and other typographical symbols, or may consist enti ...

''P3358''. The Squadron destroyed eight Junkers Ju 87 Stukas, but after just 15 minutes of flying time, a German gunner put a bullet through Fiske's fuel tank. With his aircraft badly damaged and his hands and ankles burnt, instead of bailing out, Fiske nursed his Hurricane home, gliding over a hedgerow to the airfield. Although he landed his aircraft safely back at Tangmere, Fiske had to be extracted from the aircraft by ambulance attendants. Shortly after, his fuel tank exploded. Fiske was taken to the Royal West Sussex Hospital in

Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...

for treatment, but he died from surgical shock shortly afterwards, on 17 August. Fiske was 29 years old. Fiske's funeral took place on 20 August 1940. Six members of Tangmere's ground staff carried Fiske to his final resting place. His coffin, covered in the

Union Jack The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...

and the Stars and Stripes, was borne on a bier to Boxgrove Priory Church and buried. Of Fiske's role in the Battle of Britain, Bill Bond, founder of the Battle of Britain Historical Society, wrote: Fiske's Flight Commander,

Sir Archibald Philip Hope, 17th Baronet Group Captain Sir Archibald Philip Hope, 17th Baronet, (27 March 1912 – 12 July 1987) was a Scottish aristocrat and aviator who flew with the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Early life and education Archibald Philip Hope, know ...

, added:

Memorials and tributes

Fiske is buried in St Mary and St Blaise churchyard in

Boxgrove Boxgrove is a village, ecclesiastical parish and civil parish in the Chichester District of the English county of West Sussex, about north east of the city of Chichester. The village is just south of the A285 road which follows the line of the R ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

. The inscription on his gravestone reads simply: ''He died for England''. The funeral was publicized for propaganda purposes. A memorial stained glass window was dedicated to him on 17 September 2008 at

Boxgrove Priory Boxgrove Priory is a ruined priory in the village of Boxgrove in Sussex, England. It was founded in the 12th century. History Origins The Priory was founded in the reign of Henry I, about 1123 by Robert de Haia (or de la Haye), Lord of Halnacr ...

. At the dedication service, a number of former colleagues attended and his green

Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of luxury cars and SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded as Bentley Motors Limited by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Cricklewood, North ...

car was on display. Fiske is listed on the

Battle of Britain Monument in London The Battle of Britain Monument in London is a sculpture on the Victoria Embankment, overlooking the River Thames, which commemorates the individuals who took part in the Battle of Britain during the Second World War. It was unveiled on 18 Septe ...

and the

Battle of Britain Memorial, Capel-le-Ferne The Battle of Britain Memorial is a monument to aircrew who flew in the Battle of Britain. It is sited on the White Cliffs at Capel-le-Ferne, near Folkestone, on the coast of Kent. History It was initiated by the Battle of Britain Memorial Trus ...

. On 4 July 1941, a plaque was unveiled in the crypt of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. The inscription reads: ''An American citizen who died that England might live''. The decision to unveil this plaque on

American Independence Day Independence Day (colloquially the Fourth of July) is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States ...

was probably a political one; the United States had not officially joined the war and the

British Prime Minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern p ...

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

, was keen to popularise Fiske's story. The plaque was unveiled by

Sir Archibald Sinclair Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso, (22 October 1890 – 15 June 1970), known as Sir Archibald Sinclair between 1912 and 1952, and often as Archie Sinclair, was a British politician and leader of the Liberal Party. Backgr ...

, the

Secretary of State for Air The Secretary of State for Air was a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state position in the British government, which existed from 1919 to 1964. The person holding this position was in charge of the Air Ministry. The Secretar ...

. He said at the ceremony:

Here was a young man for whom life held much. Under no kind of compulsion he came to fight for Britain. He came and he fought and he died.

Other tributes to Fiske include a memorial tablet dedicated to him in the crypt of the

Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York The Cathedral of St. John the Divine (sometimes referred to as St. John's and also nicknamed St. John the Unfinished) is the cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. It is at 1047 Amsterdam Avenue in the Morningside Heights neighborhood ...

. The

United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation The United States Bobsled & Skeleton Federation (USBSF) is the official national governing body (NGB) for bobsled and skeleton in the United States. It serves as the American representative for the International Bobsleigh and Tobogganing Federati ...

also created the ''Billy Fiske Memorial Trophy'' as a posthumous tribute to him. The trophy is awarded to the national champion four-man bobsled team each year. In addition to a 2005 documentary (''American Warrior: Billy Fiske''), Red Valley Productions performed a new play based on his life called ''Billy Fiske: King of Speed'' at the Alexandra Theatre, Bognor Regis from 20–25 July 2010. The Billy Fiske Foundation is currently working with the Wandsworth Council to finalise a site in Nine Elms Park near the U.S. embassy in London for the Billy Fiske statue. Artist Jenna Gearing was commissioned to create the work of art, which is sculpted in bronze.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Cull, Nicholas J. ''Selling War: British Propaganda and American Neutrality in World War Two.'' New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. * Hinckley, David
"Next Thrill: Billy Fiske Chapter 9."
''New York Daily News'', 5 March 2003. Retrieved: 2 April 2009. * Holmes, Tony. "Saga of Billy Fiske: Part One" ''Air Classics'', Volume 39, no. 12, December 2003. * Holmes, Tony. "Saga of Billy Fiske: Part Two" ''Air Classics'', Volume 40, no. 1, January 2004. * Hough, Sir Richard Alexander and Denis Richards
''The Battle of Britain: The Greatest Air Battle of World War II.''
London: W. W. Norton & Company, 2005. . * Lang, Walt N. ''United States Military Almanac''. New York: Random House, 1989. .

External links

Billy Fiske Foundation
ref>
1932 US Olympic teamBBC News article mentioning Billy FiskePilot Officer Billy Fiske
* , from

British Pathé British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fiske, Billy 1911 births 1940 deaths Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge Aviators killed by being shot down Bobsledders at the 1928 Winter Olympics Bobsledders at the 1932 Winter Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in bobsleigh Bobsledders from Chicago Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II The Few Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II Medalists at the 1928 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1932 Winter Olympics American male bobsledders American expatriates in the United Kingdom American Royal Air Force pilots of World War II Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in England Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1940 Military personnel from Chicago